2020 marked the fourth year of the biggest hip-hop festival Breezer Vivid Shuffle. They also introduced a league format that will include elements of hip-hop across music, art and dance. Each element will have stalwart ambassadors aka league ambassadors like Kr$na the rapper who also starred in Gully Boy, Shantanu Maheshwari the dancer-cum-actor, JordIndian the duo that is known for their Smoke Sheesha Play Fifa videos and Piyush and Shazia who have choreographed Bollywood songs including Genda Phool and Tere Naal Nachna.

Verus Ferrerira spoke to Kr$na the league ambassador who will be leading one of the four teams by mentoring and guiding the young aspiring talented participants.

Could you shed some light on your journey in the hip-hop scene so far?

My interest in hip hop started early, when I was in school. It went from being a genre that I enjoyed listening to, to something I thought I could do as well if I tried and I didn’t turn out to so bad! From there it developed into a hobby, a hobby I wasn’t confident would actually become my profession because at that time Hip Hop was a non existent genre in India. I stuck to it though and 14 years after I started rapping, I’m still here!

The hip-hop scene has changed massively in the country recently, where do you think it’s headed, what does the future look like?  Also, how does it help upcoming artists?

Hip-hop has received a lot of mainstream attention and recognition recently, which is really good for the community. More avenues to showcase talent have opened up. Also existing platforms like Breezer Vivid Shuffle have been helping hip-hop enthusiasts and upcoming talent get more opportunities.

Tell us about your association with Breezer Vivid Shuffle this year?

Breezer Vivid Shuffle is back for a fourth season and this year it has transformed from India’s biggest hip-hop dance festival to India’s biggest hip-hop league. It has opened up the platform for rap and graffiti too. At the same time, it’s been brought alive in an all-new digital avatar, which is amazing! For this means, people across the country can participate and there are no geographical restrictions. Also, it is enabling some of us from the community to mentor and lead these upcoming artists, and I couldn’t be happier to be on-board as a league ambassador. In the course of the next three months I’m looking forward to Live  Life In Colour with this extremely fun platform and jam with the artists.

How does it feel to be the owner and responsible for one league? What are your plans for your team?

It is incredible! I will be able to lead, guide and mentor an entire league of upcoming rappers. It’s such a privilege to share my learnings with these artists, and help them develop their skills. While there have been times when rappers approach me for advice or just an insight into my journey, I haven’t led an entire team before, and I’m looking forward to help them put their best food forward. At the same time, it’s important to have fun in the process, and I plan on ensuring the my team has good experience while learning.

Tell us about the School of Shuffle workshops, what will they cover and what’s your role in them?

It’s amazing how the platform has taken a 360 degree view of hip-hop and brought together multiple opportunities. There’s the competition, and in the journey, all of us league ambassadors will mentor the participants. And with all this, there’s a cool line-up of artists helping hip-hop enthusiasts learn the basics of dance, rap, graffiti and even sneaker customization under the School of Shuffle workshops. These workshops are a great opportunity to learn, grow and broaden one’s horizon and every aspiring artist should make the most of it. After all, these opportunities don’t come along everyday.

What’s your advice to upcoming hip-hop artists and enthusiasts?

Just stay authentic. Hip Hop is about authenticity. Don’t try to be like your favourite rapper or artist because people will be quick to judge you as a knock off in this day and age. Also, don’t pay attention to the naysayers and the keyboard critics, your talent and skill will shine through if you just keep at it, keep practicing and keep improving.

What’s next in pipeline for you, any new projects or songs?

My new album ‘Still Here’ drops in February 2021. Working towards that currently

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira